Buthelezi comments ridiculous, says Jiyane

Inkatha Freedom Party defector Ziba Jiyane on Sunday scoffed at suggestions that he could be likened to former New National Party leader Marthinus van Schalkwyk.

In an interview at his home in Richards Bay, he said the idea presented by his former party boss, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, is ridiculous.

The IFP’s former national chairperson said that had he wanted a Cabinet post, he would certainly not have been outspoken about African National Congress policy.

“I don’t think the best way to become a Cabinet minister is to bring in a fresh voice that says we have died as a nation because we have left God.”

Jiyane also said he was not surprised about Buthelezi’s remarks because the IFP leader had also said Jiyane had been an ANC plant.

Jiyane’s centre-right party, the National Democratic Convention, has attracted a floor-crossing MPL in KwaZulu-Natal from the African Christian Democratic Party.

At the IFP’s 30th annual conference on Saturday, Buthelezi and other IFP speakers attacked the concept of floor-crossing, saying that “crosstitution” is a recipe for South Africa becoming a one-party state.

Jiyane disagreed, saying South Africa’s system of proportional representation gives enormous power to political leadership hierarchies.

“What other mechanism do you have to balance the autocratic treatment of politicians by overpowerful political bosses?” he asked.

Jiyane said because proportional representation is not constituency-based, enormous power goes to parties instead of candidates.

“These political parties must not complain when a device is found to ensure that they are not autocratic,” he said.

Meanwhile, in Ulundi, KwaZulu-Natal, on Sunday, a convoy of buses carrying IFP supporters headed for the party’s 30th anniversary rally.—Sapa